You Gave Me Wings
by Tauna Petit-Strawn
Summary: A short, two part story. Victoria, her family and others are saved from a flash flood. However, one of their rescuers is someone from their past, one of the last people they ever expected to see again. Hope I have the genres right. Victoria, Nick, Heath and Jarrod are all mentioned, but only Victoria and Nick have speaking parts.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1 of 2

A/N ***** Henderson-as far as I know-is simply a made up town.

Yes, I'm still working on Laurels only this two part story was talking loud enough to get me to take a break and write it down.

~oOo~

A/N *Henderson-as far as I know-is simply a made up town.

"Hurry it up!" Tom Lang, a brown haired, brown eyed forty year old farmer yelled above the wind as it blew fiercely across the wide ravine. The rain was coming down hard and the citizens of *Henderson were desperately pulling people out of a wide creek bed often used by travelers when the weather was good. However, the strangers had been caught off guard by the sudden storm which seemed to come out of nowhere, causing a flash flood. Some of them were simply drenched; others had broken arms or legs due to falling rocks or limbs. The farmer turned to his right and gasped in disbelief as Mrs. Dodge, the wife of Dr. Cornelius Dodge, waded through water waist deep yet again and struggled to get another victim of the storm out of the creek bed. There were enough men helping the travelers, why did she have to get it into her head to take such risks. He hurried to and ran to help her with the white haired, unconscious woman she'd just rescued.

"Are you crazy?!" He yelled above the wind as the two of them managed to get the stranger into a nearby wagon, one that already held two of her sons in it.

"Of course, I am!" Mrs. Dodge threw a smile his way as one of their neighbors yelled back asking what the fuss was all about as 'she's already helped pull most of the people to safety; what the fuss now'? "Now get these good folks back to the boarding house where the other victims have been taken!" She yelled as she ran back for a small child who was sitting on a rock unable to move for two reasons; he was frightened out of his mind, and his leg was broken. The only thing Mr. Lang could do was to follow Mrs. Doge's instructions, and continue to help in the efforts to transport each and every stranger to the huge boarding house that stood in the center of Henderson.

 **~oOo~**

Victoria moaned and opened her eyes. It took a moment for her to remember that she, Jarrod, Nick, Heath and their families had been traveling with a dozen or so of their friends to ^Granite City to celebrate the town's twenty fifth Founder's Day when a storm hit them by surprise. The last thing she remembered was a small tree branch flying towards her. It made her glad Audra had listened to Carl and stayed home; he hadn't wanted her to travel being so close to the delivery date of their first child.

Victoria looked around and quickly realized she was lying on the floor in a huge room. There were many others lying on the floor or sitting against the wall. Slowly she sat up and looked around. She was more than relieved to see Heath and Jarrod among those sitting among those against the wall; their wives were sitting next to them and their children-a total of four between them, were next to Jarrod and Heath. However, she grew concerned when she saw Nick sitting against the wall cradling his unconscious wife in his arms and no sight of his four year old son, Theodore.

"It's good to see you awake." Tom Lang, who had been giving the town's unexpected guests drinks, stopped in front of the Barkleys and looked at Victoria, introducing himself as he did so. He then looked at Nick. "Mrs. Dodge has sent word to her husband; he'll be here as soon as possible."

"Where is he?" Nick did his best to control the level of his voice, as he knew how busy a doctor could get, but he failed as the question came out a bit sharper than he meant to. Though, he did apologize, explaining he was simply scared to death for the life of his wife. She meant the world to him, and he didn't want to lose her.

The gentleman in front of him gave him a sympathetic smile, compassionate smile and sighed. "Helping burying the last of his patients that Typhoid plague took. If this storm had happened a week ago, not only would you all have been fighting for your life in that storm, but you might have caught the sickness and had to fight it too. As it is, I know it's hard," he said as he looked at Nick's wife and then at the rest of the family, "but please be patience. The doctor and his wife have run themselves ragged trying to save who they could from the sickness, and," He shook his head, "Mrs. Dodge risked her life to get many of this group," he gestured around the room, "including your wife, this woman here," he pointed to Victoria, "and and that child," he pointed to Nick's two year old son who sat near his Uncle Heath, "out of the creek bed."

"That woman is my mother." Nick answered a bit quieter.

"I'd like to meet Mrs. Dodge and thank her." Victoria said. "When do you…" she stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened as Mrs. Dodge stepped out of side room carrying Nick's four year old son in her arms.

"What is…" Nick and his brothers started to ask Victoria until they looked in the direction their mother was looking.

It was all Victoria and her sons could do to keep their jaws off the floor when they saw who was in the room and watched Mr. Lang hurry over to her and say, "Will you please take a break? Doc's going to have a fit if he knows I allowed his wife to continue to run herself into the ground."

"I'll be fine and I can handle my husband." Mrs. Dodge walked over and set the child down by Nick. Then, hiding how nervous she felt inside hidden, she smiled and looked at all the Barkleys. "Hello, it's been a long time."

^A/N Yes, I borrowed the name "Granite City" from the two part episode "Explosion". However, I'm definitely playing around with locality as it's not supposed to be anywhere close to Stockton in this AU.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of 2

 _ **Previously:**_

 _It was all Victoria and her sons could do to keep their jaws off the floor when they saw who was in the room and watched Mr. Lang hurry over to her and say, "Will you please take a break? Doc's going to have a fit if he knows I allowed his wife to continue to run herself into the ground."_

 _"I'll be fine and I can handle my husband." Mrs. Dodge walked over and set the child down by Nick. Then, hiding how nervous she felt inside hidden, she smiled and looked at all the Barkleys. "Hello, it's been a long time."_

 _~oOo~_

Victoria, who was the first to come out of her shock, asked as she looked at her family, "You pulled me and members of my family from the creek bed? You're a doctor's wife?" However, before she could receive an answer the front door of the boarding house flew open and a brown haired gentleman who looked to be in his mid forties, hurried in. He was muttering under his breath as he did so.

"Cornelius!" his wife turned and scolding him, though she used a kindly tone. "We have patients, and they don't need to hear the doctor acting as if he's losing his mind."

"No, they don't." Dr. Cornelius Dodge shook his head as he headed towards Nick's unconscious wife. "I got here as soon as I could." He knelt down and asked Nick to loosen his grip on his wife.

"Sarah's got to be all right." Nick said as he managed to let go of his wife, enabling the doctor to lay her down on the floor and begin his examination. "She just has to be."

As if she heard her husband and wanted to assure him she'd be fine in time, Sarah opened her eyes and let out a moan. "Hold still, ma'am. You've had quite a bump on your head." After he'd thoroughly examined Sarah, Dr. Dodge looked at his wife, surprised to see her looking at Nick and the others nervously. "What did I miss?" He knew his wife well enough to know there was something different about these particular patients.

"How is she?" his wife gestured at Sarah. "How is Mrs. Barkley?"

Barkley?! Cornelius's eyes widened as he helped Sarah, who was now fully conscious, sit up and then leaned her against Nick, who was more than willing to wrap his arms around her as she leaned against his chest. Dr. Dodge knew the Barkley name well from all the talks he'd had with his wife as he'd courted her. "I think she'll be fine in time, but I don't want you," he looked at Nick, "to let her push herself for awhile. She's had quite the concussion. "

"Sarah will take it easy, won't you dear?" Nick glanced at his wife, who was more than willing to listen.

"Yes, Nick. You won't hear a peep out of me." Sarah glanced at the good doctor and his wife.

Dr. Dodge stood up and looked at the Barkleys and then at Nick. "I have wanted to meet you and your family ever since I first met my wife; though I admit-being a small town country doctor out in the middle of nowhere California-I didn't ever think I'd get a chance to do it. I'm glad you found a wife who appears as precious to you as my wife does to me."

Nick couldn't help but smile as he glanced at Sarah and then back at the good doctor. "Thank you,"

"No need to thank me. Maybe, once everyone is recovered, and if my wife doesn't mind, you and your family can eat with us at our house. She's quite the good cook if I may say so myself." That made all the Barkleys stare except for Victoria. Somehow, she had known all the time that, if the young woman she'd met years ago could just like herself, she would find out there were many talents she could probably develop. He wasn't surprised when his wife told him the Barkleys would be welcome if they wished to accept the invitation and then told him he'd best check on the other patients.

Once he had walked away, Victoria spoke up again. "So when did Sacramento's social butterfly land in Henderson?"

"When she took a long hard look at herself and didn't like what she saw." Hester sat down next to the Barkley Matriarch and looked at the rest of the Barkleys. "And I didn't leave Sacramento and come straight here. I actually started volunteering at the hospital near my old home in Sacramento. Later, I realized how much I loved medicine and helping people. I shocked everyone the day I entered nursing school and then accepted a position as Cornelius's nurse five years ago." She chuckled and shook her head, "Neither one of us ever planned on falling in love. He'd lost his wife of fifteen years, and I figured I still learning to like myself."

"When did you marry him?" Nick, who still held his wife close, asked. He'd often wondered if Hester had ever settled down and decided what she really wanted in life. However, he'd never dreamed their paths would ever cross again or that she'd be the one to save the lives of ones who he held dear to his heart.

"Two years ago." Hester smiled wide. "In best of our best laid plans, we fell in love." She answered and then looked at Victoria again and surprised her by thanking her.

"For what?" Victoria asked, wondering what on earth she'd ever done for the dark haired beauty that had once been her son's fiancé.

"You might not have realized it only, that night outside the tent in which Nick laid strapped to that makeshift bed you pushed me for answers, you did something else." Hester smiled as she glanced towards her husband who was talking with another patient. "You made me realize if I was ever going to find what I really wanted, I had to be honest with myself and everyone else." She paused and then said quietly, "You gave me wings with which to fly." She then stood up and excused herself, saying she really should go help her husband. "I'll have a good meal fixed for you before you leave though, I promise."

"That's Hester Converse?" Sarah slowly tilted her head even though it still hurt like crazy and looked at Nick. "She's the one you were engaged to?"

Nick nodded, "But let's just say I'll be forever grateful I got you instead. Now," He looked around at his family, "Let's just be grateful we're all alive and not worry about the past. It's better left there. Though," he looked at his mother and smiled, "I don't suppose you have extra wings lying around. Flying would be easier than dealing with the alternate route we're going to have to take when it comes time to leave here.

Victoria and the others laughed at the idea of anyone flying home and then turned the talk to other things.


End file.
